Seasons ending, with surprising results

     As the seasons or the European Leagues are winding down, most leagues already have a winner, but not every result was predicted last summer.




Spain (La Liga)
     Ok, fine. No surprises here. The Catalans swiped their 21st title this season, finishing just 4 points above Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was La Liga's top scorer with 40 goals. This set a new record. Deportivo La Coruna, Hercules, and Almeria have been relegated to Division Segunda, and Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano, and Granada CF have been moved to La Liga.

Germany (Bundesliga)

     There is no official winner of the Bundesliga, but Borussia Dortmund is the unofficial winner. They won with a 7 point lead over 2nd place Bayer Leverkusen, who had a 3 point lead over perennial favorite Bayern Munich. Bayern's Mario Gomez was top scorer in the league with 28 goals. Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, and St. Pauli have been relegated, and Hertha Berlin, FC Augsburg, and VfL Bochum have been moved up to the Bundesliga.

France (Ligue 1)
     Lille has been casually working its way up from a 10th place finish in the 2005-2006 season, and the hard work has finally paid off. Lille were crowned the champions of Ligue 1 for the 1st time since 1954, ahead of the last game of the season because their lead over everyone else was so large. Recently, Olyimpique Marseille knocked the deficit down to just 6 points, but its too late. Ligue 1's top scorer was Moussa Sow, and he had 22 goals, although that race is still in contention, being that Lorient's Kevin Gameiro has 21 goals, and both Lille and Lorient have 1 game left each. AS Monaco, Lens, and Arles have been relegated to Ligue 2, and Evian Thonon Gaillard, Dijon FCO, and AC Ajaccio have been added to Ligue 1.


England (Barclays Premier League)
     Yet again, The Red Devils have triumphed. Chelsea's horrendous winter cost them dearly, and more or less handed United their 12th title, although Chelsea had a shot to pass United in the table. Chelsea lost to United 2-1, because referee Howard Webb is a known Red Devils supporter. The top scorer for Barclays this season was actually 2 players. Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov, and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez both scored 20 goals. However, Berbatov only took 98 shots, whereas Tevez took 120 shots. Blackpool, Birmingham, and West Ham United were all relegated to the npower Championship Division, and Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, and Welsh side Swansea City have all moved up to the Barclays Premier League.



Netherlands (Eredivisie)
     Ajax Amsterdam claimed their first Eredivisie title since 2004, and just barely too. This is the club's 30th title since its founding in 1900. They finished just 2 points above FC Twente. Bjorn Vleminckx of NEC Nijmegen was the league's top scorer, with 23 goals. Excelsior, VVV Venlo, and Willem II Tilburg are in contest to not be relegated, and RKC Waalwijk, FC Zwolle, and Helmond Sport are the top 3 up for promotion.


Portugal (Premeira Liga)
     No surprises here, FC Porto won the title, and SL Benfica came in 2nd place. Portimonenese and Naval 1o Maio have been relegated. Feirense and Gil Vicente have been brought up from the Liga de Honra.
























Italy (Serie A)
     To my knowledge, there is no official winner of the Serie A title, but AC Milan is currently leading the pack by 6 points. The Top scorer of the league is Udinese's captain, Antonio Di Natale. Sampdoria, Brescia, and Bari have been relegated, and Atalanta and Siena are being promoted. There is a playoff for  the 3rd promotion spot.